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Kids These Days

A letter in response to Nathan Heller’s article (January 14, 2013)

Heller’s article brought to mind the German phrase “Wer die Wahl hat hat die Qual,” which means “Whoever has the choice has the torment.” When I was in my twenties, the notion that I could do or be anything was more overwhelming than empowering. Too much openness can induce paralysis, and, in me, it did. Because I am a member of Generation X, my world of choice conflicted with the limitations that preceding generations experienced, and that shaped my life story through restrained expectations. The result was a sense that “I can do what I want, but it darn well better be conventional.” I often wondered whether I would not somehow have felt freer had I lived in earlier decades, in which choices for young women were limited to very specific roles. Perhaps that would have been less vexing than to have the world, only to feel guilty for taking it.